Lion Links
Lion Links: 12/5/21
Happy Sunday, Mane Landers! Rub those eyes, pour some coffee, and pull up to a heaping helping of Lion Links.
Report: Lions Linked to Uruguayan Winger Facundo Torres
Reports out of South America have linked Orlando City with a move for 21-year-old Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres of Peñarol. The young attacking player would fit the MLS Under-22 Initiative perfectly, as a developing player. If signed to that type of contract, it would take up one of Orlando City’s Designated Player slots. Torres has 10 appearances with the Uruguayan national team since getting his first cap in 2021, but has yet to score for La Celeste at the senior level. He has 10 goals in 49 games with Peñarol over the last two seasons — five each in 2020 and 2021. The Lions could use a dynamic winger after opting not to pick up the option on Nani’s contract and losing Chris Mueller to Scottish side Hibernian. The release fee per the linked story is a hefty one, at $20 million, although the story indicates Peñarol may be open to taking less — in the neighborhood of $14 million. Either way, it would represent a club record transfer for Orlando. We will continue to track this rumor, but it’s worth noting that Torres has also been linked with a possible move to LAFC, Brazil, and Europe.
Dike Not Invited to December USMNT Camp
Orlando City striker Daryl Dike was not called into the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 26-man December training camp by coach Gregg Berhalter in preparation for a Dec. 18 friendly in Los Angeles against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Athletic’s Sam Stesjkal reported ($) Berhalter left Dike out so he could rest after logging “nearly 3,300 minutes in 49 games in 2021, all while dealing with a series of different knocks.” According to Stesjkal, Berhalter told reporters on Friday:
“He’s had a long year. He’s beat up, he needs recovery and the most important thing at this time for Daryl is to get rest and recovery so that he can focus on coming back into January and building himself up again.”
Reported Pride Coaching Target Departs UCLA
The Equalizer’s Jeff Kassouf reported this week that the Orlando Pride intend to hire UCLA women’s soccer coach Amanda Cromwell as the club’s new head coach. UCLA announced on Friday that Cromwell is “departing for other opportunities.” The Pride have yet to publicly announce a hiring, the club’s postseason contract decisions, or any trades that might have been completed before Friday’s deadline, aside from sending Jodie Taylor to expansion side San Diego Wave FC.
She led us to our first NCAA Championship, to 4 @pac12
titles, including the last 2, and to 3 College Cups.Thank you, @CromwellUCLA, for an amazing 9 seasons at UCLA. We wish her the best of luck as she moves on for other opportunities.
ℹ️ https://t.co/MGObkpOt4U pic.twitter.com/4tjyzwDyDJ
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) December 3, 2021
Portland Wins Western Conference Final; Philadelphia Loses 11 Players for Today’s Eastern Final
Real Salt Lake’s Cinderella story came to a close with a 2-0 loss at Portland Saturday night. Felipe More scored five minutes into the game to put the Timbers ahead 1-0 early. Santiago Moreno added a goal in the 61st minute on a shot off the post that hit the back of goalkeeper David Ochoa and bounced in to make it 2-0. Portland will host MLS Cup regardless of who wins the Eastern Conference final.
The Philadelphia Union will be at a serious disadvantage in today’s MLS Eastern Conference final (ABC, 3 p.m.) because 11 of its players are listed as “out” due to the league’s Health and Safety protocols. Team captain Alejandro Bedoya, goalkeeper Andre Blake, attacker Sergio Santos, and the Union’s entire starting back line from its last match are among the 11 players who will miss the game due to quarantine. While NYCFC also will not be at full strength as 2021 MLS Golden Boot award winner Taty Castellanos sits out after receiving a red card in NYCFC’s semifinal win over New England on Tuesday night, the Pigeons are obviously in a much better position than the Union.
Free Kicks:
- Former Lion Chris Mueller announced his arrival to Hibernian Friday on social media.
⌛️ #GGTTH 💚 pic.twitter.com/y6bsFumH3w
— Christopher Mueller (@cmueller1662) December 3, 2021
And his new club announced him to fans on Saturday.
- The NWSL released more draft and exansion draft details on Friday. The Pride currently have the fifth, 29th and 31st overall picks in the Dec. 18 draft. However, not all NWSL trade deadline deals have been announced yet and any swaps including draft picks aren’t yet reflected in this draft order.
- Robert Lewandoski fired home two goals in Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga heavyweight clash known as Der Klassiker. Dortmund’s Erling Haaland also scored in his first match after a seven-game injury absence and now has 51 goals in 51 career Bundesliga games.
- Manchester City regained its spot at the top of the Premier League table yesterday with a 3-1 victory over Watford.
- Rangnickball begins in Manchester today (NBCSN, 9 a.m.).
- Revenge sums up this FourFourTwo preview of today’s pandemic-delayed Women’s FA Cup final between Sam Kerr’s Chelsea and Vivianne Miedema’s Arsenal (ESPN+, 9 a.m.).
- Pencil in these 2022 dates for USWNT match windows.
- An Instagrammer asks if this is the best goal-scoring celebration you’ve ever seen. Post your all-time fave in the comments.
- Mexican wrestling meets Mexican soccer in this kit release. What do you think? I don’t want one but I do want to re-watch Nacho Libre now.
Maybe our favourite kit release of the season… 🇲🇽🤼♀️@CharlyFutbol x @luchalibreaaa, bringing the worlds of Mexican football and Mexican wrestling closer together. What more could you want? pic.twitter.com/IuNomnCcox
— COPA90 (@Copa90) December 4, 2021
Keep your eyes peeled this week for confirmation (or not) of the report that the Pride are close to trading Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris to NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Have a great week, Mane Landers!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/25/24
Duncan McGuire is an Olympic frontrunner, Orlando Pride get ready for the Washington Spirit, Colin Guske signs with Orlando City B, and more.
How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this work week hasn’t been too stressful for you as we get ready for another weekend packed with Orlando soccer. All of the European soccer this week has been enjoyable as well, as teams fight for silverware and survival. It should be a fun next few days, although most of my match following will be digital. I’m hoping to get out to the stadium for a game or two over the next couple of months as well. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!
Duncan McGuire Likely to Play in Olympics
Orlando City forward Duncan McGuire was listed as one of the frontrunners to join the U.S. for this year’s Olympics. It won’t be much of a shock if McGuire is in Paris this summer, as he’s been impressive in the time since being drafted sixth overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by the Lions. The 23-year-old has followed up a strong rookie year with three goals and an assist so far this season. It will be interesting to see who McGuire could compete with for minutes in the Olympics, with Ricardo Pepi noted as another possible option up top for the U.S. Overall, it’s nice to see McGuire is doing what’s needed to stay in the contention for Paris. I think that staying in Orlando rather than going to England has definitely helped his case.
Orlando Pride Prepare for the Washington Spirit
The Orlando Pride are riding a five-game unbeaten streak and will take it to the nation’s capital for a difficult road match against the Washington Spirit Friday night. The Pride have won their past two games and will face a Spirit side that has won four of its five games this season. Both teams have been defensively sound, each conceding just four goals, so it may come down to moments of individual brilliance to make the difference. Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke about the difficulty of the matchup, Orlando’s grit this season, and the impact Barbra Banda had in her debut last weekend.
Orlando City B Signs Colin Guske
Midfielder Colin Guske, who joined Orlando City’s academy back in 2020, signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Orlando City B through this 2024 season. The 17-year-old made his OCB debut in the team’s season opener this year and scored the game-winning goal. He’s carved out a spot in OCB’s midfield this season, starting in four of the team’s five games. Guske has two brothers who have also gone through the club’s academy and played with OCB. A solid year with the Young Lions from Guske could result in a Homegrown Player contract for the senior team.
Columbus Crew SC Wins First Leg Against Monterrey
The Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals are here and the Columbus Crew are the only MLS team still in the tournament. They came up with a big 2-1 home win in the first leg of their matchup against Monterrey. Cucho Hernandez gave the Crew the lead in the first half and 21-year-old Jacen Russell-Rowe scored the winner in the second. An away goal by Monterrey could prove crucial though due to the tiebreakers, and the second leg will take place on May 1. The winner of this matchup will take on either Club America or Pachuca in the final on June 2.
Free Kicks
- Former Lion Dom Dwyer is reportedly headed out west to sign with Oakland Roots SC in the USL Championship.
- Toronto FC traded away $200,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money (GAM) to Atlanta United in exchange for winger Derrick Etienne Jr. The 27-year-old has not received much playing time this season, and Atlanta could earn another $175,000 in GAM if performance-based metrics are met.
- The San Jose Earthquakes have reportedly signed Hernan Lopez from Godoy Cruz. It would give a-needed boost to the team, which has just three points from nine games this season.
- St. Louis City winger Celio Pompeu won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his great strike from outside the box in his team’s 3-3 draw with Sporting Kansas City.
- Carlos Jimenez was fired as the Kansas City Current’s head of medical for reportedly having a relationship with a player that violated the league’s non-fraternization policy.
- Next year’s MLS NEXT season will include eight new teams, and there’s a nice breakdown on what each one brings to the table.
- Despite Sergino Dest’s recent injury, PSV Eindhoven’s Peter Bosz spoke on how he’d like the right back to stay with the team after his loan from Barcelona expires.
- Everton came up with a 2-0 win at home against rival Liverpool. Most attention will be on how this dents Liverpool’s title aspirations, but Everton deserves praise for putting more distance between itself and the relegation zone with this win during a difficult season that included point deductions.
- Atalanta beat Fiorentina 4-1 to book its spot in the Italian Cup final against Juventus. That final will take place on May 15 and should be a pretty good match.
- Xavi will reportedly stay on board as Barcelona’s manager for another season after all.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/24/24
Orlando City and Orlando Pride power rankings, USMNT player news, USWNT will host Costa Rica, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s that time of the week for some tasty links. Two seven-point weekends for Orlando’s soccer teams is nothing to sneeze at, unlike the pollen that coats my hometown of Tallahassee. It’s the time of the year that I make my money back with the unlimited car wash next to my work. Enough with my weather-related car issues, let’s get to the links.
Lions Move Up (and Down) in Power Rankings
There’s nothing that shows the value of “power rankings” better than when you can compare two different ranking lists for the same week for any given club. We all know Orlando City is undefeated in its last four matches thanks to the late heroics of Ivan Angulo to draw CF Montreal over the weekend. But, did you know that was both good and bad?
In ESPN‘s MLS power rankings, Orlando City dropped a spot from 16th to 17th despite “treading water” with a point on the road in Montreal. Meanwhile, the Lions roared ahead three spots from 21st to 18th in MLSsoccer.com’s power rankings. So, do you like that Orlando is 17th in the ESPN piece despite the drop? Or do you prefer the positivity of a three-spot jump to 18th in the MLSSoccer.com rankings?
Orlando Pride Rise in Power Rankings
Forget everything I wrote up there regarding power rankings — at least as far as the Orlando Pride are concerned. After starting the season with three draws, the Pride now have two wins in a row. As such, ESPN moved the Pride up three spots from eighth to fifth in its NWSL power rankings. Their move up the list is entirely deserved and the writer was correct in their assessment. Of course, I’m kidding but it’s still nice to see the Pride get recognized for their results. Now, we just need the Pride to continue the winning streak.
Keeping Up With USMNT Players Abroad
As we shared yesterday, Sergino Dest will likely miss this summer’s Copa America thanks to a knee injury suffered during PSV Eindhoven training. That means the USMNT has a right back situation to address and there are quite a few well known candidates to step in for Dest.
Meanwhile, Weston McKennie has reportedly rejected Juventus’ latest extension offer. I can understand his decision given it doesn’t include any additional salary. McKennie has been very good for Juve, with 10 assists on the season. He’s not the only American making a difference, as Tim Weah provided the assist on Arkadiusz Milik’s goal to send Juventus to the Coppa Italia final.
USWNT Olympic Send-Off Match
The United States Women’s National Team will play a match against Costa Rica at Audi Field on July 16. It will be the final match for the USWNT prior to the Olympics that start nine days later against Zambia. New coach Emma Hayes will join the team on June 1, which isn’t a ton of time before the Olympics start, but she has been a part of the process for months.
Free Kicks
- Former Pride players Erika Tymrak and Jordyn Listro have signed with Tampa Bay Sun FC of the new USL Super League, a Division 1-sanctioned women’s soccer league. More soccer in the U.S. is a good thing, so good luck to Tymrak and Listro.
- The New England Revolution have acquired veteran defender Xavier Arreaga from the Seattle Sounders for a 2025 international roster slot, and up to $75,000 in General Allocation Money depending on performance.
- Inter Miami’s Jordi Alba will be out for several weeks due to a hamstring injury. Fortunately, he is expected to be back in time for the match against Orlando City on May 15. Where did I put the sarcasm font?
- In an odd occurrence, a Californian team has been chastised. Four players on the LA Galaxy were found to be in violation of the mass confrontation policy in their match against the San Jose Earthquakes over the weekend.
- The unending Inter Miami signings continued, with the club signing Paraguayan midfielder Matías Rojas.
That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Pride’s match against the Washington Spirit this Friday, and Orlando City’s match against Toronto FC on Saturday. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/23/24
Ivan Angulo makes Team of the Matchday bench, Americans in action, Sergino Dest to miss Copa America, and more.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was an excellent weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as the three sides took seven of the nine points on offer. There’s no rest for the wicked this week as the Orlando Pride travel to play the Washington Spirit on Friday, Orlando City hosts Toronto FC on Saturday, and Orlando City B finishes things up at home against Toronto FC II on Sunday. Let’s take a look at today’s links.
Ivan Angulo Earns Recognition
Ivan Angulo has been named to the bench of the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. The Colombian got the start on Saturday up in Montreal, and had a good game, going the distance and completing 82% of his passes and putting one of his two shots on target. That shot was an important one, as it gave the Lions a late equalizer and helped them salvage a valuable point on the road. Sean Rollins gave him a grade of 6 in his player grades from the match, a rating that likely would have been higher had Martin Ojeda’s pass been accurate enough to allow Angulo to grab a possible winner just a few minutes after he equalized. Here’s hoping he keeps up the good work!
Americans in Midweek Action
There are a number of Americans taking part in big games this week, and the good people over at Stars and Stripes FC have you covered with the whole rundown. First up, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus will try to advance to the Coppa Italia final this afternoon, as they enter the second leg of the semifinal against Lazio with a 2-0 lead on aggregate. Tomorrow sees Monaco and Folarin Balogun meet Lille in Ligue 1 action, while Chris Richards and Crystal Palace host Newcastle United in the Premier League. Things wrap up on Friday in Serie B when Gianluca Busio, Tanner Tessman, and third-place Venezia face Cremonese as they try to overtake Como and finish in one of Serie B’s two guaranteed promotion places.
Sergino Dest Sidelined Long Term
Following up on a story from yesterday’s Lion Links, The Athletic is reporting that the knee injury suffered by Sergino Dest will keep him out of Copa America, and sideline him for the rest of the year. That would be a big blow for the United States Men’s National Team, as Dest has been the nailed-on starter at right back since winning a place in the team during the qualifying cycle for the 2022 World Cup. The Yanks aren’t without options at the position, as Joe Scally could step in for Dest, or Gregg Berhalter could try deploying Weah there, but neither of the two possesses Dest’s level of offensive threat.
Inter Milan Wins Serie A
Inter Milan dispatched rival AC Milan 2-1 guaranteed that Inter will win its 20th Serie A title in club history. Fikayo Tomori’s goal in the 80th minute was the closest Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah’s club could get to leveling the score, and Inter is now a whopping 17 points clear of AC Milan with five games left to play. Inter has been imperious on its way to a 20th Scudetto, scoring the most goals in the league while also conceding the fewest and losing only once this season.
Free Kicks
- The Orlando Pride and Orlando City hosted a clean-up effort in honor of Earth Day on Monday.
- Apple is reportedly close to landing the rights of the expanded Club World Cup, set to start play in 2026. The deal is thought to be worth as much as $1 billion.
- Xavi has still not made a decision on whether he will stay or leave Barcelona at the end of the season, and will meet with club executives who reportedly want him to continue managing the Catalan club.
That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
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